Mobile nurse service offers emergency aid at Helsinki nursing homes

The Social Services and Health Care Division and Service Centre Helsinki have launched a new mobile nurse service at the end of May, which got positive response among the people, said the City of Helsinki in a press release on Thursday.

It allows a mobile nurse to visit clients at nursing homes, providing them with quick help and decreasing unnecessary visits to emergency services.

Thus, the nursing home resident can be treated at their own nursing home for various acute health-related conditions.

“If a resident’s well-being deteriorates quickly, the nursing home’s care worker will contact the doctor on call. A doctor will always assess the resident’s condition and issue a treatment decision. If necessary, a mobile nurse will be called for a visit. The nurse is an acute care professional and can provide treatment at the nursing home, in an environment that is safe and familiar to the client,” said Medical Director Laura Pikkarainen from Helsinki Hospital’s social services and health care division.

The service has now been available for more than two weeks. It has gone well and the reception has been positive.

“Of course, we are only getting started, but it seems clear that the visits of a mobile nurse have supported the nursing staff. The residents have been happy, too, as providing them with help in the familiar nursing home environment has been possible in most cases. Creating a new service has also been an inspiring opportunity for our medical professionals,” said Service Manager of Nursing Services Taina Nevalainen from Service Centre Helsinki.

For now, the mobile nurse service is only available at weekends, but extending the service is already being planned.

“In the future, we plan to extend the service to cover weekday evenings and we also want to include it in home care services,” said Pikkarainen from the social services and health care division.